? Traditional Conventions of a Shakespearean comedy would include a picturesque setting to give the impression of a happy and joyous environment.

This tends to be the reason why Shakespeare’s plays such as The Comedy Of Errors and The Merchant of Venice are set in Italy and Greece respectively. In Messina everything is tranquil and serene and from the first act it looks like nothing can go wrong including relationships. A Shakespearean comedy would best be defined as “a play characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. Whilst a Shakespearean tragedy would be defined as “a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending usually with the death of a main character. ” Much Ado About Nothing walks the fine line between a tragedy and a comedy. Although Much Ado About Nothing is advertised as a comedy, it would not be difficult for readers to look past the slapstick and satire and uncover a script that encompasses many aspects of an Elizabethan tragedy let alone a Shakespearean tragedy.

In this essay I will attempt to understand whether Much Ado About Nothing can be played as a tragedy as well as a comedy, taking into consideration the different viewing experiences of both a modern and Elizabethan audience. In many ways a passive observer of this play would be convinced that Much Ado About Nothing is a traditional Shakespearean comedy. You don’t have to look far to see a typically slapstick rendition of the play. When we watched the globe version of the play it was clear by the laughter coming from the audience members that this was in no way interpreted as a tragedy.Even I would be fooled by the slapstick and satire coupled with the punch lines and comical characters produced by Shakespeare. Many characters in the play are witty and humorous but none so much as Verges and Dogberry.

Shakespeare clearly uses these two characters as comic relief. Many of their lines incorporate jokes such as “I think they that touch pitch will be defiled: the most peaceable way for you, if you do take a thief, is to let him show himself what he is and steal out of your company. ”(III, III, 56-60) This quote is poking fun at the multitude of lazy and incompetent constables inEngland during Shakespeare’s time. Characters such as Verges and Dogberry are one of the reasons why audience members who do not have the script in hand are easily drawn to the conclusion that this play must be a comedy and to some extent they are correct. Comic relief is used in many of Shakespeare’s plays but they are more often seen in tragedies rather then comedies.

Comic relief which is used to release tension or emotion in the midst of serious or tragic elements of a play has most notably been used in Macbeth during the porter scene and Hamlet during the grave digging scene.Both of which are very famous Tragedies. This leads me to believe that Shakespeare would have used the comic relief because Much Ado About Nothing is a play dealing with tragic events, which is part of the definition of a tragedy.

Another reason why Much Ado About Nothing is not a conventional Shakespearean comedy is due to its ending. The definitions of a tragedy and a comedy are very similar although they differ when discussing endings. It seems the main, if not only difference between Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies is that its comic characters avoid a disastrous outcome.In a comedy the ending mentions that the characters in the play overcome adversity whilst a tragedy states that a main character must succumb to adversity and die.

This leads me to the fourth act, in which Friar Francis devises a plan in which he states. “Pause awhile; and let my counsel sway you in this case. Your daughter here the princes left for dead: Let her awhile be secretly kept in, and publish it that she is dead indeed; Maintain a mourning ostentation ? And on your family’s old monument hang mournful epitaphs and do all rites that appertain unto a burial. ” (IV, I, 195-200)By pretending that hero is no longer alive Shakespeare has incorporated one of the defining features of a tragedy in a comedy. Although the deception regarding Hero’s death lasts for only one-act readers and viewers realize the seriousness of the plot and the tragedy that has ensued.

Surprisingly this is not the first time that Shakespeare has used the strategy of a faked death, in fact it was used in his most famous tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The similarities between these two plays are shown again as it is another friar who plans out the death of Juliet. As a reader I ponder the reason whyShakespeare has not only used so many techniques, which are found in his tragedies but especially in Much Ado About Nothing he has used many elements from Romeo And Juliet. To me this means at the least he wants his audience to wonder whether the punch lines and the banter are just a cover up for a more sinister play. The unhappy ending of the play does not end there. As the play begins to wind down the expected partners in the play are married off. Although marriage is a celebrated occasion it is a misconception to believe that all the characters in the play are now living happily ever after.

Claudio only one act ago said. ”O Hero! What a Hero hadst thou been If half thy outward graces had been placed About thy thoughts and counsels of thy heart! But fare thee well, most foul, most fair, farewell Thou pure impiety and impious purity. For thee I’ll lock up all the gates of love, And on my eyelids shall conjecture hang To turn all beauty into thoughts of harm, And never shall it more be gracious. ” (IV. I. 98–106) By saying this he has just openly accused Hero at their wedding ceremony, throwing her back to Leonato, her father.

He believes that she has not only been unfaithful to him but has lost her virginity. By ridiculing her in public it would be hard to imagine that in one act they will be married again. The typical Shakespearean comedy inevitably results in marriage however these endings should be criticized for proving somewhat problematic, particularly to a modern audience, as the qualities of the marriages seem unkempt. It is possible that to an Elizabethan audience during a period when women didn’t have the same freedoms, which they possess today, the play would have a less publicly scrutinized ending.By marrying Claudio it is clear that Hero does not triumph over adversity but instead marries the man who caused all her grief. This is not the happy ending that we are lead to believe.

The ending of the play leaves the future of the characters in uncertainty. Don John who is the main villain in the play fled Messina at an unspecified time in Act v, however a messenger has arrived with news saying,” My lord, your brother John is ta’en in flight, ? And brought with armed men back to Messina. (V, IV, 117-118) This is a serious threat to all the characters and it seems intriguing that Shakespeare would include these lines at the very end of the play leaving the audience to imagine what would occur next. Indeed with the copious amounts of moments of drama and tragedy in the play, an audience member wouldn’t have much difficulty imagining a gruesome conflict involving Don John and the rest of the characters. Through the quotes provided in the text and my analysis of these quotes and ideas I do believe that this play can be interpreted as a tragedy.The ending, of other Shakespearean comedies such as a Midsummer Night’s Dream where the fairies bless the house and its occupants with good fortune seem to end on a more joyful note then the gloomy conflict that awaits the characters of the Much Ado About Nothing.

If you then paired this with the similarities between Shakespeare’s tragedies and Much Ado About Nothing it is no wonder that the most recent production by the Royal Shakespeare Company was a more austere version of the play.

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